The EU and Mexico said on Saturday (Apr 21) they had reached an "agreement in principle" to modernise an existing free trade deal, as the Latin American country faces pressure from protectionist measures threatened by US President Donald Trump. The EU and Mexico released a statement, about an "agreement in principle" over trade, from EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (L), Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal (R) (seen in 2017) and EU Agricultural Minister Phil Hogan. (Photo: AFP/Pedro Pardo) Under the updated terms of the 2000 deal, "practically all bilateral trade in goods will now be duty-free, including in the agricultural sector," the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said in a statement. The move is seen as sending a strong signal to Trump who last year launched renegotiations of what he has previously referred to as Mexico's "cash cow" - the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The US leader's threat to even axe NAFTA altogether … [Read more...] about EU, Mexico reach agreement on free trade deal

(VOVworld) – The EU and Canada signed the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) at the EU-Canada summit, which took place in Brussels on Sunday. The event is considered a milestone because CETA was likely to break due to the rejection of Wallonie and other Belgium’s speaking French regions a few days ago. Speaking at the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, said EU and Canada signed an important trade and economic agreement after 7 years of negotiations. After the deal takes effect, CETA will link EU, one of the biggest markets in the world with 500 million populations, to Canada, the tenth biggest market. 99% of tariffs between the two sides will be removed. The agreement will be approved by the European Parliament and Canadian Parliament before it officially comes into force. At the summit, the leaders committed to strengthening … [Read more...] about EU, Canada open a new page in trade cooperation

BRUSSELS — Belgium’s political leaders looked Thursday to a new round of talks aimed at resolving differences that have blocked a landmark EU-Canada free trade deal. The stakes are high amid warnings that the EU’s international standing, already battered by Britain’s shock June Brexit vote, will suffer further if seven years of trade negotiations go to waste because of internal Belgian politics. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said representatives from the federal government and the country’s linguistic communities would resume their talks at 0800 GMT on Thursday after adjourning before midnight Wednesday without an agreement. He had earlier reported the sides were near a consensus that would allow Belgium to overcome objections from its French-speaking communities and support a trade deal which must be endorsed by all 28 EU member states. But he added technical issues still needed ironing out. "We are awaiting a definitive response from" the … [Read more...] about Belgium plans new talks to break EU-Canada trade deadlock

(VOVworld) - Talks aimed at establishing a free trade deal between Canada and the EU are reported to have failed. Canada's trade minister Chrystia Freeland announced the intense talks had broken down as she walked out of meetings with EU leaders in Belgium. Freeland said despite efforts, parties involved didn’t reach a consensus. As scheduled, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was supposed to be signed next Thursday in Brussels during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit. But legislators of the Belgian region of Wallonia vetoed against the signing of the CETA. Belgium cannot approve the deal without support from five sub-federal administrations, and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it. … [Read more...] about Canada-EU free trade deal talks ‘have failed’